# Avoiding red tones in dark brown color?



## glamslam (Aug 28, 2005)

Hey guys, any advice on this?




I have naturally dark brown hair. I started coloring it to cover grays about 2 years ago. I decided to go lighter and have been using L'Oreal True Brunettes or something like that, which is a high-lift color. I went about 3 or 4 shades lighter than my natural and I realy liked it but noticed my hair was getting very reddish and brassy. Well, last time around I decided to use a medium neutral brown from the L'Oreal Preference line, to try and transition back to my darker hue. Well, the color initially grabbed on like crazy and I came out totally dark brown, not medium brown. It was pretty, and actually matched my natural color, but it was unexpected since I had intended to go back to dark gradually. Anyhoo...the color faded really fast and 3 weeks later, it's almost as light as before. The red tones are back too. My gray hairs are waving and saying hi to me in the mirror. How annoying! What should I do next time I go to color my hair? Switch brands? Leave the color on longer? Is there a certain shade to look for? I know to stay away from anything with "warm" or "golden" in the title. I thought I was doing good with picking "neutral" brown but it didn't stick. I think "ash" tones are only for lighter shades right? Any help is appreciated! I'll be coloring next weekend. TIA!


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## butterflyblue (Aug 28, 2005)

Hi

I am also brunette, you have to be careful with reds, actually I have naturally dark brown hair, I use right now Clairol Nice n Easy med golden brown.

Going lighter with brown hair can be tricky, the color under all brunettes is gold and reds depending on your natural color.

It is in my opinion a perfect shade of brown. It isn't t too gold at all, in fact I don't even see the "golden" in it. Neutral colors are tricky because they have no reds/golds at all just brown, which is good if you want to tone down red and golds but, they can be too dark. I did use Clairol Nice n Easy neutral brown, and it is nice color not too dark at all! I would stay away from ash colors though, it will look very "grayish" on brown hair.

I noticed with Preference colors they turn real dark on me too.

I stick to the Nice N Easy line they have the best browns and I love the color, and they cover gray perfectly! Good Luck!





Originally Posted by *glamslam* Hey guys, any advice on this?



I have naturally dark brown hair. I started coloring it to cover grays about 2 years ago. I decided to go lighter and have been using L'Oreal True Brunettes or something like that, which is a high-lift color. I went about 3 or 4 shades lighter than my natural and I realy liked it but noticed my hair was getting very reddish and brassy. Well, last time around I decided to use a medium neutral brown from the L'Oreal Preference line, to try and transition back to my darker hue. Well, the color initially grabbed on like crazy and I came out totally dark brown, not medium brown. It was pretty, and actually matched my natural color, but it was unexpected since I had intended to go back to dark gradually. Anyhoo...the color faded really fast and 3 weeks later, it's almost as light as before. The red tones are back too. My gray hairs are waving and saying hi to me in the mirror. How annoying! What should I do next time I go to color my hair? Switch brands? Leave the color on longer? Is there a certain shade to look for? I know to stay away from anything with "warm" or "golden" in the title. I thought I was doing good with picking "neutral" brown but it didn't stick. I think "ash" tones are only for lighter shades right? Any help is appreciated! I'll be coloring next weekend. TIA!


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## NYAngel98 (Aug 28, 2005)

Hmmm... it's going to be kinda tough to do with a box dye, because you don't know the base colors... but you should look for a color with a green base, because the green will tone down red. If you get professional color, then you can see what the base is... a lot of ash colors have green - check out Sally's ... they sell a few pro color items


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## glamslam (Aug 29, 2005)

Oh cool ladies...thanks for your suggestions! I wish I had the dough to go to a salon and have a pro take care of my color for me! But for now I'm doing the DIY thing-- so it's nice to have friends to help! I will definetly keep these tips in mind!

I thought of something else...I use Head &amp; Shoulders for dandruff, it's all I can use that really works for me. Could this be stripping my color? Just the other day I bought some Pantene Relaxed and Natural dandruff shampoo to try. It has pyrithione zinc just like the H &amp; S so I thought it would work but still be more moisturizing. I've only used it once so far and of course my hair isn't freshly colored so I don't know if it will do the same thing. Don't you think it could it be the medicated ingredient that fades the color?


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